Would you buy a house that has been rented? (tenants, disclosure, landlord)
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The house I want to buy has been rented since 2002. Is this a scary factor to consider (as tenants do not care for a property the way a homeowner would), and is this something to discount from the asking price? The fact that it's a rental or has been a rental?
Either way, you're still going to have a home inspection so why should you care if it's home owners or renters? At least it hasn't been sitting vacant for all those years.
I would worry about it having been a meth lab or other kind of drug house. I would ask if it was rented to different people every year since 2002. It wouldn't bother me if the house was in good shape but if it looked trashed I'd worry about trashy people having lived there.
Number one, lots of rented properties get sold all the time. The simple fact that it had been a rental bears little, if any, cause for concern in my opinion. Number two, the Seller's Disclosure will be completed for you to see. Number three, as with any property the burden of researching and conducting a proper due diligence is on the Buyer. There possibly could be some issue that the owner truly is unaware of. The condition of the home overall, will play into your offer, too.
p.s. The last home that I bought had the original owner's son and wife in it. it had never been a rental. We did a home inspection. I cannot even begin to tell you the immense filth and garbage and condition of this property, but the "bones" were good. We later did find a couple of serious electrical issue however, the inspector would not have been able to catch those. So never being a rental is also, no cause for complacency.
Is there some "secret" damage that renters could do to a house that would not come out in an home inspection?????? I suppose maybe 7 years of flushing paper towels down the tiolet or somesuch........would not be evident in an inspection now that I think of it
The house I want to buy has been rented since 2002. Is this a scary factor to consider (as tenants do not care for a property the way a homeowner would), and is this something to discount from the asking price? The fact that it's a rental or has been a rental?
This is not always the case. We rented and the homeowners did us dirty by letting the house go into foreclosure. To be completely honest (our property manager who is also our realtor right now can vouch for this) the house we rented was in better condition when we left than when we moved in. So your statement is pretty unfair.
When it hit the market, it sold very quickly because of how well we took care of the property.
Ladybug, I think you are the (stellar!) exception. It's my understanding that renters usually do not take care of houses/properties as well as an owner would. I know that's a generalization but it's pretty true, seems to me. I remember when my friend was renting a house. She was/is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, great incomes, nice stuff, have nannies, maids, etc. She still used to do things in that rental house that she never ever does in her house now (which she owns). She used to like flush stuff down the toilet, bang furniture against appliances, have a trashy lawn, etc. "Who cares? It's a rental" was her motto.
This is not always the case. We rented and the homeowners did us dirty by letting the house go into foreclosure. To be completely honest (our property manager who is also our realtor right now can vouch for this) the house we rented was in better condition when we left than when we moved in. So your statement is pretty unfair.
When it hit the market, it sold very quickly because of how well we took care of the property.
ladybug I agree that not all renters are like that. My husband and I always leave a place in better shape by fixing things and leaving it cleaner than the prior tenants. (We are now buying our first house but have rented many years). But I hear that we are a minority.
I bought a house that had been rented for over 15 years and it showed signs of it. Neither the tenants or landlord gave it any loving care. since it was th worst house in a nice neighborhood it was worth buying and putting money into it. No threat of overbuilding in a decent neighborhood so I offered $35k as opposed to a $52k asking price and settle on $37.5 for a 900 sq ft ranch. Having built homes in the early 70s I do my own repairs. I purchased 35 additional acres @ $500.00 an acre , spent money
rejuvinating and remodeling and now have a property worth around $200k in a neighborhood of $300k to $500k homes. The key was the neighborhood warrented spending money to rejuvinate.
Good luck in your new home to be.
My father (a contractor) is recommending that I stay away from any properties that have been rentals. Of course it's impossible to really know that something has been rented or not.
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